The variation of life has predominantly been studied on land and in water, but this focus is changing. There is a resurging interest in the distribution of life in the atmosphere and the processes that underlie patterns in this distribution. Here, we review our current state of knowledge about the biodiversity and biogeography of the atmosphere, with an emphasis on micro-organisms, the numerica...

A main objective of the present study was to isolate and identify the antibacterial activity of actinomycetes strains obtained from terrestrial habitat and to utilize the antibacterial production profitably for the eradication of pathogens which cause disease to human being. The actinomycetes strains were isolated from terrestrial soil sample of King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Ar...

Predator-prey relationships are vital to ecosystem function and there is a need for greater predictive understanding of these interactions. We develop a geometric foraging model predicting minimum prey size scaling in marine and terrestrial vertebrate predators taking into account habitat dimensionality and biological traits. Our model predicts positive predator-prey size relationships on land ...

Adult dispersal and completion of life cycles by aquatic insects are essential for the persistence of populations, colonization of new habitats, and maintenance of genetic diversity. However, life-cycle stages and processes associated with the terrestrial environment often are overlooked when the effect of watershed urbanization on the persistence of insects associated with streams is examined....

Marine defaunation, or human-caused animal loss in the oceans, emerged forcefully only hundreds of years ago, whereas terrestrial defaunation has been occurring far longer. Though humans have caused few global marine extinctions, we have profoundly affected marine wildlife, altering the functioning and provisioning of services in every ocean. Current ocean trends, coupled with terrestrial defau...

Triatomine bug species such as Microtriatoma trinidadensis, Eratyrus mucronatus, Belminus herreri, Panstrongylus lignarius, and Triatoma tibiamaculata are exquisitely adapted to specialist niches. This suggests a long evolutionary history, as well as the recent dramatic spread a few eclectic, domiciliated triatomine species. Virtually all species of the genus Rhodnius are primarily associated w...

Estuaries are amongst the world's most productive ecosystems, lying at the intersection between terrestrial and marine environments. They receive substantial inputs from adjacent landscapes but the importance of resource subsidies is not well understood. Here, we test hypotheses for the effects of both terrestrial- and salmon-derived resource subsidies on the diet (inferred from stable isotopes...

Current levels of endangerment and historical trends of species and habitats are the main criteria used to direct conservation efforts globally. Estimates of future declines, which might indicate different priorities than past declines, have been limited by the lack of appropriate data and models. Given that much of conservation is about anticipating and responding to future threats, our inabil...

Chameleons are highly specialized and mostly arboreal lizards characterized by a suite of derived characters. The grasping feet and tail are thought to be related to the arboreal lifestyle of chameleons, yet specializations for grasping are thought to exhibit a trade-off with running ability. Indeed, previous studies have demonstrated a trade-off between running and clinging performance, with f...